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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22354561">The Package</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Amazon, America, Bad grades, Crime, Depression, Detroit, Divorce, Gen, Harvard, Illegal Activities, Law, Police, Poverty, Single Father, Teenager, box - Freeform, mechanic, pre-teen, teenage daughter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 00:13:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,092</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22354561</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A single father struggles to raise his 12 year old daughter in the city of Detroit. After a hard day at work resulting in a probationary period, Joe struggles to find some extra cash. On his way home from work he spots an unattended amazon package on his neighbours front porch. Joe decides to steal the package and sell it. However, the contents within the box lead to an ominous discovery. What exactly was his neighbour doing?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Package</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I wrote this short story for my writers class. The ending is a bit rushed which is the result of me trying to finish it by the deadline haha. I thought that I might as well post it here. Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Good morning, sweetheart.” Joe said with a soft smile gracing his features. His daughter groaned in response. Although she was only twelve years old, she acted very much like a teenager. “Come on, you can’t just lay in bed all day.” Joe chuckled, crossing the threshold into her bedroom.<br/>

“Yes I can.”<br/>

“Anna…” He began with a hint of exasperation lacing his tone. “If I have to go to work, than you have to go to school. Believe me, I would just love to laze around the house all day but you know, in the real world一”<br/>

With a burst of furry, Anna interrupted. “Okay! I’m up, I’m up! God, can’t I do anything without you nagging my ear off?” She threw her heavy duvet onto the floor and stomped into the washroom. Then, a resounding thud of a door being slammed shut echoed throughout their small apartment hopefully signaling to the end of her over dramatic episode.<br/>

Joe heaved a large sigh in response. His eyes cast downwards to the watch on his wrist. The time read to be a quarter past seven which left Anna only fifteen minutes to get dressed and ready for school.<br/>

His concern for Anna was rapidly increasing. She began the ninth grade of highschool as a straight A student. She had many friends and participated in nearly every extracurricular activity he could think of. They also shared such a strong bond. Joe loved spending time with her; especially at the bowling alley. They shared a competitive streak which made a seemingly relaxing pastime out to be that of a high intensity sport. As the saying goes, like father like<br/>
daughter. 

However, when Joe divorced his wife, Anna’s academics and relationships took a slippery slope.<br/>
He and his wife did not want to raise their daughter in a broken family. They had even made the effort to schedule counseling in the hopes of saving their marriage. Despite their best efforts however, their relationship had run its course and they had fallen quite naturally into ways of avoiding each other. It was only when Joe had walked in on his wife having an affair that he decided enough was enough. The divorce papers were signed immediately and he won custody over Anna.<br/>

In regards to their living situation, a small apartment in the rundown city of Detroit was all Joe could afford. Of course he had a bit of help thanks to the child support payments his ex-wife was obligated to pay for, but caring for children is insanely expensive as Joe came to realize after the first few months. As a result, he had to start working two jobs just to make ends meet.<br/>

“Oh, so you can sit and stare off into space but when I want to have a few extra minutes to relax before my day at hell starts, I get yelled at?”<br/>

Joe was so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn’t even heard Anna enter the room. “Don’t you dare talk to me like that, young lady! I work all day just to provide for you. I demand respect in this home!”<br/>

“This isn’t a home.” Anna muttered under her breath.<br/>

The drive was not a pleasant one. The tension in the car was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. When Anna was finally dropped off at school, Joe heaved a sigh of relief. Being around his daughter was very much akin to walking on a floor of eggshells all day. However, he relished moments such as these when he was driving to work. A silent car, his mind void of any thoughts except for that of what the other cars on the road were doing. It was his safe haven.<br/>

Joe wished that he could be a better father for Anna, but he just didn’t know what to do. He already provided all her basic necessities for her and even let her decorate her own bedroom when they moved into their crummy apartment. Just then, a thought of brilliance struck him. What if he surprised her? Took her out to eat at some fancy restaurant or went on a shopping spree? Teenagers loved that kind of stuff. He would have to stay at work late and go without eating for a few days to save up the money, but it would be well worth it. Joe would do anything for Anna. Just to see her smiling again would make his whole world light up.<br/>

For the second time today, Joe let his thoughts run with him. He hadn’t even noticed how much time had passed since he dropped Anna off at school. Joe thought with a chuckle that maybe she was right, he was in lala land far too much.<br/>
He took the next exit off of the highway and pulled into the parking lot of his work. Being a mechanic didn’t earn him much, but at least it was something. Sometimes Joe ran into a few bad apples in this line of business. With Detroit having the second highest crime rate in the entire nation, it was difficult to avoid. Whether it be a wrecked car after a high speed police chase, or a broken window from a homeless person breaking into the car and sleeping in the trunk, it brought a lot of business to Joe’s company. His boss basked in the riches it generated. Of course with that kind of money, he lived in Palmer Woods; the wealthiest neighbourhood in the city. Joe couldn’t even imagine what he would do with that kind of money. Maybe he would abandon his apartment and buy a penthouse in the city of New York and enrol Anna in an elite private school. What better place than New York City for his sweet Anna? The city of opportunities and dreams as they say.<br/>

“Joe! Come into my office!” Joe’s boss, Mr. Montgomery called from the other room. Sometimes it was difficult to even understand what he was saying. The man smoked a pack of cigarettes a day which did awful things to his voice box and lungs. It didn’t matter where you worked in the building, if Mr. Montgomery had to cough, you could hear it.<br/>

“Yes, Sir?” Joe asked, standing in the office doorway.<br/>

“Take a seat, Joe.”<br/>

He did as he was told. Suddenly his tongue seemed all too big for his mouth. He swallowed the painful lump in his throat and nervously waited for his boss to speak.<br/>

“I’ve called you here today to address a growing concern. You have been arriving and leaving work at inappropriate times. I am a very busy man, Joe. I have no tolerance for this kind of behaviour. Unless you can provide a doctor's note excusing you from work, I expect you to show up for your shifts on time. Until we can establish trust, you will be placed on a probationary period.”<br/>
Joe’s eyes widened in shock. He didn’t think anyone would notice his tardiness. It was just that Anna had been so difficult lately. She always slept in which made him late for work as he was her only means of getting to school, he had to wait for her.<br/>

“I apologize for my behaviour, Mr. Montgomery. I assure you, you will not be disappointed.”<br/>

“I should hope so, Joe. If not, you will have to find work elsewhere.”<br/>

“Yes, sir.”<br/>

Mr. Montgomery looked at Joe with a hint of annoyance. He reached into the drawer of his grand oak desk and retrieved a pack of cigarettes. “That is all.”<br/>

The rest of Joe’s shift was worked in complete silence. He feared that his boss could be watching him through the security cameras. He even skipped lunch to try and show more initiative. When the small hand landed on four and the big hand landed on twelve, Joe packed up his tools and washed the dirt and grime from his hands.<br/>

On the drive home from work, Joe noticed that his neighbour had an amazon package sat outside on the front porch. There were no cars in the driveway either and all the lights inside the house were off. What kind of idiot leaves a package outside in Detroit where someone could easily lay their hands on it and take it? This brought a new idea to Joe’s attention.<br/>

With him being placed on a probationary period at work, he was doubtful that his boss would let him take extra shifts. How would he get the money to surprise Anna with that fancy restaurant or shopping spree? He couldn't handle it anymore. Joe was going to steal the amazon package and try to sell the contents for some easy money.<br/>
It’s not like anyone would notice anyways. His neighbour wasn’t even at home and it was beginning to get dark out. Joe parked on the side of the road made a quick dash to grab the package. He threw it into the backseat of his car and sped off home.<br/>

His daughter was sleeping over at a friends house tonight so he didn’t have to worry about picking her up from school or her seeing what he had just done. His conscious did feel guilty, but he was doing this for Anna. It was worth it.<br/>

Joe placed the box on the kitchen table and grabbed a knife to open it. However, upon closer inspection, the box wasn’t from amazon at all. His curiosity peaked. There were several layers of packing peanuts and bubble wrap to get through before he finally uncovered the contents within.<br/>

“Oh my god!”<br/>
Joe screamed in shock, dropping the knife on the floor just inches from his foot. Photographs. Hundreds upon hundreds of photographs. They seemed to be ordered numerically from the date they were taken. The photographs depicted women all ages. Most of the women were not dressed. Another handful appeared to be badly injured or even dead. It was hard to tell the exact state of them through a single picture. Joe watched a fair share of crime television shows and murder documentaries. Enough to be able to tell that this was a human trafficking situation. He knew his neighbour was weird but he never suspected anything like this.<br/>
The police. He had to call the police and tell them what happened, but then they would know that he stole the box. He would be arrested wouldn’t he? Not if he came up with a cover story.<br/>

“911, what is your emergency?”<br/>

“Uh, I need to report a crime.” Joe said, his voice shaking.<br/>

“What happened, sir?” The operators voice was oddly calming. Her soft tone brought his nerves down to a manageable level and the shakiness in his hands ceased.<br/>

“I was on my way home from work and I noticed that my neighbour had a package outside. The box was pretty busted so I decided to take it inside my apartment until he got home so that no one could steal it. I was struggling to unlock my door as my hands were full so I dropped the box and all these gruesome photographs of women fell out. I think it has something to do with human trafficking.”<br/>

Joe could hear the operator on the other line typing away at her computer, making notes of everything he said.<br/>

“The police have been dispatched and are on their way to your location.” </p><p>~Six Years Later~</p><p>“Dad, I got accepted to Harvard!”<br/>

“That’s amazing, Anna! I’m so proud of you!” Joe ran across the living room and swept Anna up into a big hug, spinning her around the room for good measure. Her laughter rang out as he did so. It was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard.<br/>

On that fateful day six years ago when Joe called the police to report his neighbour, it turned out that he was a wanted criminal for sex trafficking. The city of Detroit awarded him with $2 million for his good deed. Never again would he have to worry about money. Never again would he have to give up his next meal so that Anna could eat.<br/>

They moved out of their crummy apartment and now live in a beautiful home in texas. Joe continues to work as a mechanic. However, it is he who own the business now. His relationship with Anna improved tenfold. The change of environment and counseling was exactly what she needed to get back on track.<br/>
Now they could live their lives in happiness.</p>
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